1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a device and method for determination of the throttle notch position of a locomotive engine.
2. Description of the Related Art
A locomotive engine typically features complex systems to facilitate control of the various operative features of the engine, including equally complex electrical systems. Included in the plethora of functions that must be managed by a locomotive control system are those relating to the various throttle positions that may be selected for operation of the locomotive engine. Historically, the throttle positions, particularly within older models of locomotive engines, have been obfuscated with relay banks of the locomotive engine control systems.
Further, many engines, including locomotive engines, feature a plurality of selectable and substantially discrete throttle positions, any one of which may be selected, i.e. “operative” at a particular time. However, it may be difficult to determine, particularly in the case of older hardware, which of a plurality of selectable throttle positions is the one that is operative.
Accordingly, and particularly in light of the growth and reliance upon various forms of electronic data, a need has developed for exposing the status of functions of the locomotive engine, such as for processing by additional systems and/or the addition of analytics to the locomotive engine. This includes the need to determine the operative throttle notch position, such as through an interface device configured to sense the state of the relay bank. Such an interface device may be further configured to output information pertaining to the operative throttle notch position, such as but not limited to for further computational and/or analytical purposes.